showcase italy issue 91

Oct 2007

Welcome to the autumn edition of Showcase Italy, featuring the very best creative companies and exciting individuals working in the visual media business. As usual, detailed information from all our features can be found in the city directory.

Fashion Week may be over, but continuing in the spirit we recommend the following fashion-dedicated exhibitions:

There is still time to catch the exhibition dedicated to 45 years of the House of Valentino held at the Museo dell'Ara Pacis in Rome. There are more than 300 designs and archive materials on view that celebrate both the fashion house and the designer. The exhibition ends on 28th October.

Our cover image this month is by Fulvio Maiani, represented by Visual Team.

SCL Productions provide services for photo shoots and commercials. They operate from offices in Milan and Cagliari (Sardinia), offering location scouting and management, crew assemblage, a full range of technical equipment, casting management, transportation, and many more production services to meet client needs.

They also work on events, offering audio, video and stage services, hostess and model provision, transportation and drivers, best priced and quality locations, as well as backstage photo and video coverage.

Visual Team was one of the first Milan-based professional agencies and has more than 20 years of experience working in the fashion and advertising sectors of the Italian market. Representing a diverse selection of photographers, the company looks to solve client problems efficiently whilst at the same time maximising the quality of output. Thanks to the agency's network of contacts they are able to provide a range of options and solutions to suit individual client needs.

Recent projects from the agency include:

Swish Jeans shot by Andrew Soule with supermodel Eva Herzigova.

Diesel Kids shot by Jean Paul Lefret.

Mueller yoghurt realised by Gyslain Yarhi

Basseti home wear with Tiziano Sartorio.

Dalla Pietà Yachts shot by Laura Rizzi.

The company also recently introduced some new photographers: Fulvio Maiani, a strong fashion and beauty expert; Vittorio Canisi, skilled in still-life; Maurizio Cigognetti, specialising in advertising and portraiture; and Luisa Raffaelli, described as "a painter through her photography".

Maurizio Cigognetti has been shooting ad campaigns since giving-up his job as an art director in the late 1980s. His vast experience and insider knowledge mean he is constantly in demand with advertising agencies and clients alike.

His latest campaign for Italian company Mulino Bianco saw him shooting on location in Italy and also in the studio. Recently completed for Risanamento Milan (the ideal city within the city) was a highly advertised local campaign involving ballerinas from La Scala Opera House.

Other clients include MotoGuzzi, Volvo, Samsung, Tuborg, Swatch and Telecom.

Over the years, Matteo Bertolio has concentrated mainly on fashion photography in both the editorial and commercial sectors, working with regular clients such as Mercedes-Benz, Panasonic, Wella, Breil, Fila Group, and Swarowsky to name but a few. He recently shot for Arena, Safilo Group, Valentino, and Mila Schoen.

However, a love of travelling and his desire to document what goes on in the real world has led Matteo to projects in some extreme situations, including aerial and underwater photography.

His most recent accomplishments came whilst working under the aegis of NATO and the Italian armed forces. He was involved in a humanitarian mission to Afghanistan and Lebanon, subsequently holding exhibitions in both Rome and Milan under the patronage of the City Council of Milan. He produced a book of his photographs entitled 'KM 5072'.

Franco Chimenti has been shooting advertising, architecture, interiors and still life since the 1980s.

In collaboration with major agencies, studios, companies, and magazines operating throughout these sectors, Franco shoots advertising campaigns, catalogues, and editorials, alternating between his commercial and personal work.

He says he is "attentive and curious enough to put himself to the test in different sectors", and uses digital and film. However, Franco maintains that "film is unparalleled in terms of quality and performance."

Marco Di Marco was raised in Rome, where he still has his primary residence. He studied fine arts and holds a graduate degree in architecture.

His passion for photography found him at an early age and has developed over the years into a fulfilling professional career.

In the last 10 years, he has been involved in many high-profile commercial projects: from still life to contemporary art, from architecture and design to industrial products as well as reportages, record covers, portraits of celebrities and fashion shootings.

Marco tells us that despite his eclectic professional career, he still likes to dedicate time to developing experimental projects.

'The Art of the Cappuccino University' by Luca Da Ros. Cappuccino is almost a religion - many people can't start their day without one. And those wonderful designs that expert baristas create! Is there a school to teach them how to make cappuccino? Indeed there is, and Illy - the famous coffee maker from Trieste - actually has a Coffee University.

Solomango are professional photographers shooting:

Contemporary travel and reportage features

Editorial assignments

Full text by travel writers

Stock libraries of high quality photographs

Solomango offer a full assignment service across Italy and throughout the world.

Photographer Francesco Brigida is based in Milan and specialises in fashion, beauty and portraits.

His passion for photography began at an early age inspiring him to make this form of art also a part of his work. For him, films and literature represent an important source of inspiration from which he draws themes for his images.

His style balances technique and aesthetics allowing viewers of his work to find themselves in front of a clean and extremely engaging image. His work is easily recognisable for its poetic attitude because he considers photography to be an extension of his soul.

Italian photographer Alberto Setti began his career and developed his professional skills in Milan. After travelling all over the world in pursuit of his artistic work, he decided to devote himself entirely to fashion photography. He frequently travels from Italy to other countries, working on-location wherever he is required.

Alberto has produced various publicity campaigns for famous fashion magazines such as Vogue, Marie Claire, Elle, Velvet and Flair.

Alikè Studio:
Milan landscape photographers

Alikè is an independent photo studio that interacts with a variety of professional media, including magazines, advertising and events agencies, record companies, directors, and video makers.

Alice & Jule have been working together for three years and in this time their artistic identities have grown together closely, merging originality with commercial functionality. They produce photographs for a range of purposes, including reportage, music, editorial, catalogues, commercial events, videos, graphics studies, and websites.

Massimo Gardone - Azimut Photo: Trieste advertising photographers

Massimo Gardone - Azimut Photo:
Trieste advertising photographers

Massimo Gardone is a professional photographer specialising in the creative interpretation of corporate image. He divides his work between advertising, editorial and cinematographic applications, finding time also for pure research.

Supporting productions in Naples and Milan, around Italy and across the rest of Europe, InFact specialise in on-location equipment rental, providing a flexible service based around the needs of customers.

The company continues to expand its range of available rental equipment, recently adding the 'Locationstation' to its digital photography services.

InFact maintain new and top quality industry-standard equipment, including Profoto flash and light shaping tools, Manfrotto/Avenger scrims and grip gear, Sunbounce reflectors/diffusers, and much more.

Located downtown of Milan, Matteo Tranchellini Studio operates at the national and international level developing top-level projects. The studio's professionalism, experience and skills are available to photographers and advertising agencies.

Photo post-production includes not only the ability to master techniques but is also synonymous with style and creativity - integral aspects of developing excellent jobs.

The studio also specialises in mattepaint for movie production: 3D, digital cromalin, scanner imacon and all technology used is state-of-the-art.

InFact is a production and service company based in both Naples and Milan, offering support for the planning and management of photo shoots.

With it's own equipment rental section, InFact has extensive experience in scouting locations and producing shoots for the Italian market.

With a clear choice of locations, favourable budget options and high levels of service quality, the company complements the natural advantages brought by the sunny Italian climate to satisfy a wide variety of production needs.

Founded in 1990, Lupetta 5 & BelowTheLine is a production service and location agency, one of Italy's newest and most dynamic service companies. They boldly claim to be able to fill any and all production requirements for commercials, feature films, photo shoots, music videos and documentaries.

The infrastructure that houses Lupetta 5 is recognised as amongst the most prestigious location agencies in Italy, with a photographic database among the richest in Europe. The huge location database enables clients to have at their disposal (and at short notice) superb scenic locations and immediate control over their availability.